Paula Wolfert’s groundbreaking cookbooks changed the way we eat. An Alzheimer’s diagnosis changed her life, but not her outlook.
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Pregnant, then Ruptured
After an emergency operation, Joanna Petrone considers the medical advances and legal protections that allow women to survive ectopic pregnancies.
Michael Joyce’s Second Act
In 1996, David Foster Wallace profiled tennis player Michael Joyce in one of the most celebrated pieces of sports writing ever published. Who has he become since?
Longreads Best of 2016: Food Writing
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here, the best in food writing.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Our favorite stories of the week, as chosen by the staff at Longreads.
Between Mom and Stepmom
Sarah Menkedick reflects on the very different—and complementary—ways in which her mother and her stepmother have nurtured her.
The Tears of Denis Johnson
The writer showed his students and friends how to remain an artist, even when one becomes a kind of cult figure.
My Last JDate
A three-part essay on Jewishness, cancer, and finding love in your fifties. (Read Part II and Part III)
Longreads Best of 2016: Here Are All of Our No. 1 Story Picks from This Year
All through December, we’ll be featuring Longreads’ Best of 2016. To get you ready, here’s a list of every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
A Sociology of the Smartphone
Smartphones have altered the texture of everyday life, digesting many longstanding spaces and rituals, and transforming others beyond recognition.

